Morality and order are the lifeblood of Professor Traugott Hermann Nagler, who lives rather modestly in a small city with his wife Marianne and his twelve, well-brought-up children. The virtuous professors principles are put to the test when he learns that his recently deceased sister Josefine --- who was banished from his family for a moral offense --- bequeathed a house in Uruguay to his oldest daughter. But there's more: there's also a nice sum of money to inherit, provided the Family Nagler can demonstrate the same moral misstep that once led to Josefine's banishment from hearth and home.